Goodbye Tura Satana

Official press obits and fan reaction to the death of psychotronic icon Tura Satana flew all

Satana and co-stars in Faster Pussycat!

over the internet this weekend, including on our Facebook page. Satana died Friday night of heart failure in Reno, NV, according to her manager.

Naturally, Tura – as the star of such classics as Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and Astro Zombies – has always been a big favorite of the PFS. Here’s what director Russ Meyer had to say about her in a PFS interview:

“Tura is of Japanese and Cherokee Indian extraction. She had a substantial bosom and wasp waist-she had the capability of dealing with the martial arts segments. She was recommended to me by Haji. She made it clear during the shooting that she didn’t like my discouragement of connubial bliss on my time. I didn’t want something to occur that might make one of the participants quit and end up on the bus—leaving me up the river. She told me she couldn’t work under those circumstances; that for that length of time she couldn’t work without men.

“She knew I didn’t like that, she said that she couldn’t function without sex. I said OK—you not me. I asked her if there was anyone in the crew that she wanted. She looked over to the assistant cameraman and I walked over and asked if her would like to go to bed with her. My only request was that she only do it once a night. I wanted her to be fresh. She said OK.

“Years later, I asked him if it was once a night, and he smiled and said, ‘No, it was every hour.’ Tura was very much in charge during Pussycat! Women have found the movie to be fun and attractive. (Most of my films are directed to the one-armed viewer). She is a very strong woman, and because of that, the film has found a lot of female fans. I think women today feel a lot better of her taking charge and maintaining control of the situation. Women have come up to me in England and New York and have said ‘It’s about time someone did this.’ Well, it was made over twenty years ago!”

Tura will definitely be missed by all of us, and we’d like to invite you all to post your own tribute in the comment section below.